


Haunted House

by doodles357



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Fluff, Haunted Houses, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-07-28 11:18:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16240538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doodles357/pseuds/doodles357
Summary: A new neighbor just moved in next door to Nico, and he's convinced his house is haunted so he seeks refuge at Nico's house when he gets freaked out. Eventually he ropes Nico into investigating for paranormal activity and the only reason he's doing any of this is because the new neighbor is really freaking cute.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I found a list of AU prompts and this one was calling to me, and seemed perfect for this couple. 
> 
> "You just moved in next door and you’re convinced your house is haunted so you seek refuge at my house when you get freaked out and eventually rope me into investigating for paranormal activity and the only reason I’m doing any of this is because you’re really freaking cute AU"

The neighborhood that Nico lived in was a quiet one, which was why he had chosen to live there in the first place. His neighbors were comprised mostly of retirees, as well as some younger families with small children. It was removed from the busyness of the big city, and it was calm and peaceful, which allowed him to be able to focus on his writing without distractions. He had published a few mystery novels that had ended up being moderately successful, and allowed him to purchase a small house out in the suburbs where he could continue writing. Living in his own house had many advantages, including not having to deal with paying rent, annoyingly loud neighbors, and a picky landlord that liked to stop by at random times. In his own house, he could play his music as loudly as he liked and didn’t have to answer the door for anyone if he so pleased. 

While he wasn’t a super sociable person, he had gotten to know some of his neighbors well in the time that he had been living there. The house to the right of him was empty, but the house to the left was home to a young couple with a young daughter. He was on friendly terms with them, and had even babysat a few times when they had a date night. Another couple, a pair of older women, lived across the street from him, and he found himself at their place quite often. Sometimes they invited him over for dinner, and other times just to talk. He found that he quite enjoyed the neighborhood, and was content with his living situation. And then someone moved in next door.

He saw the moving truck one Saturday morning as he was nursing his first cup of coffee and procrastinating on the cleaning that he knew needed to happen that day. It was a smaller moving truck, only big enough to fit a few pieces of furniture. Two cars followed it and parked on the street. He saw the drivers of the cars first. One was a young woman with shockingly green hair, while the other was a young man with curly red hair. Both looked as though they were close to Nico’s age. As they headed up the driveway, the driver of the truck got out. He was tall, blond, and looked rather handsome – at least from Nico’s vantage point. Not that it mattered – Nico gave himself a mental shake. Even if the blond man was his new neighbor, (not that he was hoping that) Nico was not looking for a relationship. This guy was probably not single. And probably straight. He could be a serial killer for all Nico knew. 

When he realized where his train of thought was taking him, Nico knew it was time to stop spying on the new neighbor, no matter how nice his arms looked as he carried in heavy objects. There was a messy kitchen that needed his attention more. 

He didn’t look outside again until later that night when he was fixing himself supper. One of the cars was now parked on the driveway, while the moving truck and the other car were gone. Apparently, his new neighbor was all moved in and his friends were gone. Nico briefly wondered if he should go over and introduce himself, before almost immediately dismissing the thought. The guy had just moved in that morning. He was probably exhausted and wouldn’t want to deal with new neighbors right now. Plus, he had no idea what he would say besides, “Hi, welcome to the neighborhood.” He would probably meet the new guy at some point, but he wasn’t going to put himself into an awkward situation to do it. 

He all but forgot about the new neighbor over the next week. Whatever his job was, he left early and got home late. Nico had been busy with edits on his latest novel, and spent most of his time hunched over his computer. He finally took a break when the weekend hit, as he was tired of reading his own writing over and over again. Feeling a burst of productivity (and the urge to move around and do anything that didn’t involve sitting for long periods of time) he did his normal weekend cleaning, and even started prepping a few meals for the next week. When he got into work-mode, he had the tendency to forget important things, like showering and eating full meals. He even decided to do a little extra and whipped up a batch of apple muffins from a recipe his sister Hazel had sent him a few weeks ago.

They tasted pretty good, but he soon realized that the batch was way too big for just him. He would never finish them by himself before they went bad. After counting out the amount he figured he would be able to eat on his own, he put the rest in a container and headed across the street to Emmie and Jo’s house. He had an informal system with them, where they would take turns giving each other food. He often had extras of baked goods that he would give to them, and they would do the same for him. So when he headed over to their place that Sunday afternoon, he figured they would chat for a bit, and that would be that. But the universe had a different plan for him.

“Oh thank you so much,” was Emmie’s response once she had released him from a hug and he had told her about the muffins. “Apple anything just reminds me so much of autumn. I can’t wait to try them!”

“No problem,” Nico replied. “Is Jo in?”

“Yes, she’s just in the kitchen,” Emmie said, leading him on into the house. “We just made some tea. Would you like a cup?”

“Of course,” he said, following her into the kitchen, ready to greet Jo, but the words dying on his tongue as he stopped in surprise. Jo was indeed sitting at the table in the kitchen, but there was someone else there as well. A blond haired, handsome someone. 

“Nico’s here,” Emmie announced as she headed to the counter. “And he brought us muffins!”

“Hello Nico,” Jo said as she spotted him. “Have you met Will yet? He’s our new neighbor.”

The man sitting at the table turned to Nico with a bright smile on his face. He was even more good-looking close up. He had pale blue eyes and a sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of his nose.

“Hi – no I haven’t,” Nico stumbled slightly over his words, trying to greet Jo and answer her question at the same time. Will saved him from any possible further embarrassment by putting down his cup of tea, standing up, and extending his hand.

“Will Solace,” he said with an easy smile.

“Nico di Angelo.”

They shook hands, and Nico tried to organize his thoughts into coherent sentences. It wasn’t like he hadn’t met new neighbors before, but they tended to be over the age of 65 or in established relationships. He couldn’t remember the last single young person that had moved into the neighborhood, let alone someone as attractive as Will. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the two women exchanging a look that he knew too well. They had, on more than one occasion, attempted to connect him with someone (usually a single friend of their daughter’s) and he had a slightly ominous feeling about this situation. 

And then Emmie was ushering him into a chair at the table and there was a cup of tea in front of him. She also had put some of his muffins on a plate and put them on the table for everyone. After she sat down, she and Jo launched into completely introducing the two men to each other.

“So Will, you were saying that you were a doctor, isn’t that right?” Jo asked him. 

“Yep, and I just started working at Good Hope, which is why I moved out here,” Will explained.

“What’s your specialty?” Emmie asked him. 

“I’m a pediatrician,” he replied. “I’ve always loved kids, so I wanted to focus on working with them.”

“And you moved here from…?” Jo prompted him.

“New York,” he replied. “I grew up there with my mom, but I prefer smaller towns to be honest. It’s quieter here, and not quite as crazy as the big city.”

“Well what a coincidence!” Emmie exclaimed. “Nico’s from New York as well!”

“Really?” Will asked, turning to him. Nico nodded, then cleared his throat to talk.

“Yeah, I grew up there, and ended up moving out here a few years ago for similar reasons,” he said, glad that his voice sounded normal now.

“What do you do?” Will asked.

“I’m a writer,” he said, waiting for the inevitable questions that followed whenever he told someone what he did for a living.

“Books?” Will asked first. After Nico nodded, he asked, “What are some of them called? I haven’t done a ton of reading since college, but maybe I’ve heard of them.”

Nico gave him the name of his mystery series, but he could tell by the look on Will’s face that he hadn’t heard of it. It wasn’t a big deal. Mystery novels weren’t generally the top of the bestseller’s list, and he had a small but dedicated following. He was hardly the next J.K. Rowling or James Patterson. 

“I’ll have to give them a read sometime,” Will said, flashing another smile at Nico, making the other’s heart skip a beat. That comment prompted Emmie to start not-so-subtly digging into Will’s love life. Will clearly could see what she was doing though, and just laughed.

“Medical school was pretty intense. I barely had time to sleep, let alone have a serious relationship,” he said. “My family only saw me every other Christmas.” 

He managed to steer the conversation to asking about other people who lived in the neighborhood. Nico let out a silent sigh of relief. While he loved Emmie and Jo, he didn’t want to have to deal with them playing matchmaker, which they clearly wanted to. He was touched by how much they cared about him, but wasn’t really looking forward to them trying to set him up. While Will had certainly caught his interest, he would likely just pine from a distance, as that was what he was most comfortable doing. 

After some more small talk, Nico excused himself, stating that he needed to finish up some work on his book, which was the truth. To his surprise, Will also made his excuses, and the two ended up walking out together. Nico would have bet all the earnings from his next book on the guess that the two women were peering at them through the living room curtains as he and Will stood on the front porch together.

“Well, it was really nice to meet you,” Will said to him.

“Yeah, it was,” Nico replied. “I’m sure you’ll like the neighborhood. It’s pretty quiet and everyone’s nice.”

“I’ll say,” Will said with a slight laugh. “I went outside to mow the lawn and I got invited over for tea and some delicious muffins.” 

Nico laughed, and hoped that his cheeks weren’t turning pink at the compliment. 

“If you’re not careful, Jo and Emmie might adopt you. They have a tendency of doing that.”

“Well, I think I’ll be in good company then,” Will said, grinning at Nico before hopping off the porch and waving as he started to head back towards his house. 

Nico’s cheeks were definitely pink now.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note to self: don't write creepy stuff at night. Seriously.

Over the next few weeks, Nico saw Will on a somewhat irregular basis. Since Will worked long hours, Nico usually only caught a glimpse of him coming home from work on weekdays. On the weekends though, Will was often outside, mowing his lawn, reading a book on his front porch, or tinkering with his car. Nico wasn’t much of an outdoors person, and usually spent most of his time hunched over his laptop, but he found himself more drawn to doing activities that would require him to go out of the house. It was purely coincidence that he needed to check the mail or take the garbage out when Will was washing his car down in the driveway.

Whenever Will saw him, he smiled and waved. Every once in awhile, he would engage Nico in conversation. He would ask how Nico’s book was coming, or just comment on the weather. Nico found that Will was easy to talk to, and he slowly came to realize that the attraction he felt towards the other man was growing deeper than just a physical one. He had found it difficult to make friends, but with Will, it came so naturally that he didn’t even have to think about it. He still had no idea if it was possible that Will could be attracted to him, and he didn’t have the courage to even bring up the topic. If it turned out Will was straight, he would rather live in ignorance for just a little while longer.

On the occasions that he dropped by Emmie and Jo’s place, they had some not-so-subtle comments to make about him and Will, which he cheerfully ignored. From what he gathered from listening to them gossip, they didn’t know yet if Will was straight, but it wasn’t stopping them from pushing the idea of asking him out anyways. While Nico appreciated them caring about him, he wasn’t quite as bold as they wished he was when it came to relationship stuff.

September soon rolled into October, bringing brisk winds, brightly colored leaves, and shorter days. Nico loved this time of year the most; he hated humidity, and wasn’t a huge fan of snow. The in-between when it was cool but not miserably cold was his preferred weather. Plus, the whole atmosphere of a rainy, blustery autumn day was perfect for getting him in the mood for writing some suspenseful scenes for his book.

One Friday morning, he woke up to a dark sky. The wind was already quite heavy, and the forecast called for showers in the morning, rolling into thunderstorms at night. Or in Nico’s opinion, the perfect kind of day. He made himself a cup of coffee, threw on a comfortable sweatshirt, plugged in his computer and got to work writing. While he was waiting for the finishing touches to be done on his latest novel, he already had started working on his next one. He had some inspiration strike him the day before, and he wanted to get at least a rough idea down on paper.

He got so caught up in his writing that the morning slid into the afternoon without him even realizing it. At one point, he paused to make himself some soup, and then settled back in. There was a scene he wanted to get finished that day, and then he planned on chilling out with some Netflix to finish off the evening.

Rain had been lashing against the house all day, and sometime in the late afternoon, he started hearing the distant rumbles of thunder. Nico had never been one to be afraid of thunderstorms; he was the kid who stood by the window, counting the seconds between thunder claps and lightning strikes. As long as it didn’t knock out the power, he loved listening to the storm raging around his house.

After supper, he settled down onto his couch with a bag of popcorn and plenty of blankets. The storm was going full blast, and the sound of rain hitting the house, punctured by thunder helped set the mood. He had just gotten his favorite horror movie started when he heard a sudden noise from the direction of the kitchen. He paused the movie and listened. It sounded as though it was muffled, like it came from outside. Then he heard it again; it sounded like someone was knocking.

Who could possibly be at his door at this time of night in the middle of a storm? Nico reluctantly crawled out of his blanket pile and went to investigate. It was hardly likely that it was anyone unwelcome – nobody would be out in this storm unless it was an emergency. When he got to the door, he cautiously peered around the curtain that was covering the window. Just in case there was a serial killer or someone else unsavory standing out there. To his great surprise, a soaking wet Will Solace was standing on his porch. Nico immediately unlocked the door and opened it.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as soon as he had the door open. Will tried to smile at him, but Nico could tell that his heart wasn’t really into it.

“I’m really sorry to bother you,” Will said. “Could I come in for a moment?”

“Yeah, of course,” Nico said, standing back so Will could enter. Will didn’t go beyond the rug Nico had out, clearly trying to keep the water off the floor.

“I normally wouldn’t just barge in like this,” Will said, “but I don’t know what else to do. And you were the closest, so it was easiest to come over here.”

“What happened?” Nico asked, envisioning a broken window or a tree falling through the roof of Will’s house because of the storm.

Will half-laughed nervously, and wouldn’t meet Nico’s eyes for a moment. “You’re going to think I’m crazy.”

“No I won’t,” Nico reassured him, his curiosity peaking. “Here, why don’t you come in and dry off and then you can tell me.” He ran down the hall to grab a spare towel out of the linen closet, which Will accepted gratefully. Even though their houses were pretty close, it was raining really hard and Will was soaked to the bone. Plus, it was cold out that night, which probably didn’t help matters.

After Will had toed off his wet shoes and patted himself down, he followed Nico to the living room, and laid the towel down on the couch before sitting on it. Nico personally wouldn’t have cared if he got it wet; the couch had seen much worse than a little water – but he appreciated that Will was courteous enough to do so.

“So what’s going on?” he asked again. Will took a deep breath before looking at Nico.

“I’m a doctor,” he started off. “I believe in science. And facts. But something has been happening that I can’t explain.”

“What has been happening?” Nico asked, completely confused but definitely interested.

“I think my house is haunted,” Will said, giving Nico a wary look, as though not sure what his reaction would be.

Of all the things Nico was expecting, that was not on the list.

“What do you mean?” he asked. “Did you see something?”

“No, not exactly,” Will said slowly. “It’s just…there have been a lot of weird things happening. Things I can’t explain. I’ve kind of been ignoring it for the most part, but tonight it got way freakier. I don’t know if it’s because it’s at night and the storm and everything, but I just couldn’t handle being in the house alone right now.”

“What things are you talking about?” Nico asked him.

“It was just little things at first,” Will said. “Weird noises. Stuff being knocked over that I’m sure wasn’t because of me. Electronic devices switching on and off by themselves.”

“I’m sure there are perfectly normal explanations for those sorts of things,” Nico said.

“That’s what I thought at first,” Will said, running a hand through his damp hair. “But stuff kept happening. And then it got weirder.”

“Can you give me some examples?” Nico asked.

“Well it started with weird noises,” Will said. “At first I just thought it was the house settling. It’s a place I’ve never lived before, so I figured I would get used to the noises. But then other stuff started happening to. My TV will just randomly turn on at odd hours. My lights will too. I’ve woken up in the middle of the night and all the lights in my room are on. Or all the kitchen lights are on.”

“Maybe you have faulty wiring?” Nico suggested.

“I had an electrician come and check it out,” Will told him. “He couldn’t find anything wrong. And then I’d find things fallen over. Lamps, garbage cans…things that wouldn’t normally fall over on their own.”

“Okay, that’s a little weird,” Nico admitted. He was starting to feel a little nervous, hearing Will list all the strange things that were happening to him. The fact that he was hearing this story in the middle of an intense storm at night didn’t help.

“I’ve tried ignoring all of this, but it kept happening. In fact, it seemed to get more frequent the more I ignore it,” Will continued. “Like something was trying to get my attention. And tonight it got way worse.”

“What happened?” Nico asked, now extremely curious as to what would have caused Will to run all the way over to his house in the storm.

“Well, I had just settled in to watch some TV. Figured it was a good night for it,” Will nodded towards Nico’s paused TV screen. “I had only gotten about five minutes in when the TV and all the lights went out. I thought that the storm had knocked out the power. But then the TV came back on. The weird thing was…it was static-y. Which didn’t make any sense, because I was watching Netflix. I don’t even have antenna hooked up yet. It’s literally just streaming.”

“Then I heard something else. It sounded like someone was talking, and it was coming from the TV. It wasn’t my movie though. It was some other language or something. I couldn’t understand what the person was saying, and it was distorted from the static. I was about to turn the TV off, when all of a sudden, my bedroom door slammed closed. I know that I didn’t have any windows open, because of the storm, and there is no other way that it could have closed that violently on its own.”

“At that point, I was too freaked out to do anything. Part of me was wondering if it was a ghost or something, but another part of my brain was thinking a little more logically, and wondered if someone had maybe broken into the house? Doing during a storm would provide them with some cover. But then…” he broke off, looking pale.

“Then?” Nico prompted him. While he had initially not believed Will, he was now more than a little spooked. He didn’t scare easily, but if that all had happened to him while he was home alone, he would have freaked out too.

“Then all of a sudden, my entire living room got super cold,” Will said. “I know it’s been chilly out, but I’m talking like, 10 degree drop in temperature out of nowhere. At the same time, the TV static and voice got louder, to the point where it was almost hurting my ears. I grabbed my phone and bolted. I couldn’t stand one more second in that house. I came over here because it was closest…I didn’t know what else to do. I just couldn’t spend another second in that house.”

“Yeah, I don’t blame you,” Nico said. “That sounds seriously creepy.”

“I don’t believe in ghosts,” Will said. “But…I don’t know how to explain everything that happened. I mean, there could be explanations for all of that. But I feel like it would have been something orchestrated by someone. On purpose.”

“Like, someone playing a prank on you?” Nico suggested.

“Yeah,” Will said. “But I have no idea who would want to do something like that. Especially on a night like tonight. There’s no logical explanation for it.”

“Well, you are more than welcome to stay here,” Nico said. “The couch is actually pretty comfortable if you’re okay with that.”

“Are you sure?” Will asked him, looking hesitant. “I didn’t mean to come bursting in here, interrupting your night and all.”

Nico just laughed. “Netflix wasn’t that big of a commitment. Besides, I wouldn’t want to go back to a house that had a bunch of creepy shit going on in it. And the storm is still pretty nasty, which makes it not really safe to go back out there in it.”

He was surprising himself, as he continued talking. He really didn’t know Will that well, but he was willing to let him sleep on his couch. How did he know that the whole ghost situation wasn’t a ruse and a way for Will to gain his sympathy and entrance to his home. Stories of serial killers briefly flashed into his mind, before he pushed them aside. While he didn’t know Will super well, he felt as though he could trust the other man. Was he a little nervous at the thought of Will sleeping over? Maybe. (And that reason had nothing to do with the fact that he was maybe more than a little bit attracted to Will). But he meant what he said. He wasn’t going to send Will back out into the storm, possibly to a house that was being haunted by a malevolent ghost.

“Thank you,” Will said earnestly, interrupting Nico’s train of thought. “I really appreciate it. I’ll go back home tomorrow morning – I’m sure I’ll be a bit braver in the sunlight.”

“I can go with you,” Nico found himself offering. “I also don’t really believe in ghosts, but now I’m morbidly curious. If nothing else, it could make for good material for my next book.”

Will laughed at that, and after a brief discussion, the two agreed to watch a little TV before going to bed. Given the circumstances, Nico decided to forgo the horror movie he had planned, and put on _Parks and Rec_ instead. The lighthearted show helped to push out some of the tenseness and worry that Will’s story had brought to the room, and after a few episodes, they decided to pause it and get ready for bed.

Nico lent Will a pair of pajamas so he wouldn’t have to sleep in his damp clothes, and he tried not to think about Will sleeping in his clothing. It took him a little while to fall asleep, with both the knowledge of Will sleeping on his couch, and the possibility of the house next to him being haunted, but he eventually drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The boys will be going ghost hunting in the next chapter. Stay tuned!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My original plan was to get this finished by Halloween, because it's in the spirit of the holiday. This last week was a little crazier than usual though, between midterms and job interviews, so I've fallen a little behind. Hopefully I'll get the last two chapters out as soon as I can though.

Nico did not get a lot of sleep that night. It was a combination of things: the storm that was still raging loudly outside, all the stories Will had told him, now making him jump at the slightest noise, and the fact that the aforementioned extremely cute neighbor was now asleep on his couch. Nico spent a good chunk of the night tossing and turning, almost drifting off to sleep, and then waking up at the sound of a thunderclap, or because he thought he heard something moving in his room. Needless to say, he was more than a little exhausted when he finally rolled out of bed the next morning.

He walked down the kitchen quietly, still very aware that Will was asleep in the living room. As silently as possible, he got the coffee maker set up, knowing that he was likely to need more than a few cups to get through the rest of the day. While the worst of the storm had passed during the night, it was still overcast and windy outside, and it looked like it could start raining any minute. There was also the prospect of them going over to Will’s house, which may or may not be haunted. It had been easy last night, sitting in the dark with thunder rumbling in the background, to believe what Will had said about what happened in his house. However, now that he was standing in his kitchen, watching the coffee slowly drip into the pot, Nico had to wonder how much of Will’s story was accurate. He didn’t think that Will was lying, but he was willing to bet that there were some innocent explanations to what had happened in his house.

“Good morning,” came a voice from behind him, making him start slightly. Turning, he saw Will standing in the doorway, blond curls mussed from sleep. The other man still looked sleepy, and absentmindedly ran his hand through his hair, making it stick up even more.

“Morning,” Nico replied, hoping that Will hadn’t noticed his jump. “Do you drink coffee?”

“Oh definitely,” Will said, covering up a yawn. “I could use some right now for sure.”

“Didn’t get a lot of sleep either?” Nico asked, grabbing two mugs out of the cupboard.

“Nope,” Will replied, sinking down into one of the kitchen chairs. “Kept thinking that I was hearing noises. The storm didn’t help much either.”

Nico poured out two cups of coffee and brought them over to the table. Will accepted his with a sleepy smile, and took a grateful sip.

“I know I said I would go back this morning to check things out,” Will said, “but I’m still freaked out.”

“I’m sure things will look differently now that it’s morning,” Nico suggested. “Maybe you’ll find out that some things weren’t actually as scary as you thought they were.”

Will gave Nico a long stare over the rim of his coffee cup. “I wasn’t imagining things,” he said firmly. “I’m a logical person. But I know what I saw.”

“Okay,” Nico said quickly, not wanting to argue. “I just thought that you would want to find a non-ghost related explanation. You know, because then that would mean you aren’t being haunted.”

Will let out a deep sigh. “Trust me, I’ve been trying to do that this entire time. But last night, it was like something was trying to prove me wrong.”

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to go over there and find out for ourselves,” Nico said. Will suddenly shot him a grin before taking another sip of coffee.

“So you’re coming then?”

“I guess,” Nico said, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “I don’t believe in ghosts, but I guess I can look around and see. And if I’m there, maybe your ghosts won’t bother you.”

“Do you think they’ll stop haunting me if I have company?” Will inquired, a slight smile on his face.

“Oh shut up,” Nico said, causing Will to laugh.

Once they had finished up their coffee, Nico ran upstairs to change, while Will gathered his now-dry clothes from the bathroom. He had declined Nico’s offer to borrow fresh clothes, stating that he could just change at his place. Nico just prayed that Emmie and Jo were sleeping in that day, because he could only imagine what they would say if they saw the two heading from Nico’s house to Will’s at eight in the morning, with Will wearing Nico’s clothing.

The neighborhood was quiet as they headed across the lawn stretching from Nico’s to Will’s house. It seemed almost as though they were the only ones awake in that moment. Will’s house loomed ahead of them, dark and imposing. Nico had never given the actual building any thought before. It had been empty since he had moved into his house, and he had never noticed anything unusual about it before. Now that he had Will’s stories from last night in mind, he couldn’t help but feel that it was giving off a somewhat creepy feeling. 

Will took the lead, slowly opening up the door. He had run out in such a hurry the night before that he hadn’t grabbed his keys, but he also hadn’t locked the front door on the way out. It creaked open slowly, and he stepped in cautiously, Nico following behind him.

Inside the front entry way, Nico looked around, not really sure what he would see. It seemed like just an ordinary house. It wasn’t particularly old or unusual, and he definitely didn’t see anything spooky. He toed off his shoes as Will walked further into the house.

“I guess I can give you a little tour first,” Will called back to him. “I need to change, but I kind of don’t want to go upstairs yet.” He gave a self-conscious little laugh. Nico followed him further into the house into the kitchen. Will led him through that and the living room, which was the room where all the haunted stuff had happened the night before. Nothing looked out of the ordinary though. The TV set was off, there was a blanket thrown haphazardly on the floor, and a half-eaten bowl of popcorn on the coffee table.

“At least the ghost didn’t leave the TV on all night,” Will said ruefully with a half-smile. “That’s all I would need on top of everything else; my electric bill being jacked up.”

“Maybe it didn’t like the show you were watching, and it freaked you out so you would leave and it would get to choose what to watch,” Nico suggested.

Will shot him a look. “You don’t believe me, do you?” he asked.

“I believe you,” Nico replied. “I just don’t know yet if I believe that everything that happened was because of a ghost.”

Will looked like he was going to argue with that point, but just sighed instead and offered Nico a seat while he ran up to his room to change.

As Nico sat there waiting, he looked around the living room. It was cozy, but pretty bare. Besides the couch and TV set, there was a floor lamp and the coffee table. Will didn’t decorate much it seemed, and Nico didn’t even see any pictures put out. Not that he was one to talk; if it weren’t for his sister’s influence, his house would have the basic furniture and nothing else. It struck him that he didn’t know much about Will besides his job. He didn’t know anything about his family or friends or his life before moving to the neighborhood. And yet here he was, sitting in his living room, about to go ghost hunting.

He tried to sense if there was anything off about the atmosphere of the room – this was, after all, the room where everything weird had happened. But there was nothing. Nico tried to think about what he had heard about houses that were haunted. Cold spots, someone watching you, an evil presence – but there was nothing. He felt a little awkward in the sense that he was sitting in the living room of his very attractive neighbor that he didn’t really know that well yet, but that had nothing to do with ghosts. That was just something he would normally feel in this type of situation.

He was startled out of his thoughts as Will came bounding back down the stairs.

“Anything weird upstairs?” Nico asked him as he came into the living room.

“My bedroom door was open,” Will said, flopping down onto the couch next to Nico. “And that definitely was the one that slammed closed last night. I didn’t go up to open it, so that was freaky. But nothing in my room seemed out of the ordinary.”

“So now what?” Nico asked. “It’s been normal ever since we got here. Maybe your ghosts got bored and left.”

“Ha ha,” Will replied dryly. “I did some thinking last night, and I want to do some research on the house. I didn’t really know much about it when I bought it, and I think that knowing the history might help. You know, see if something crazy ever went down here.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Nico said. “Do you still want my help? I’m pretty good at researching weird stuff.”

“Yeah!” Will said enthusiastically, then looking slightly embarrassed at his outburst. “I mean, if you think you have the time and everything. I don’t want to take you away from your work.”

“It’s fine,” Nico reassured him. “I make my own schedule, and to be honest, I’m way too curious now. I want to get to the bottom of this as well.”

“Awesome,” Will said, standing back up. “I figured that we should head to the library. If there’s any local history, that would be the place to find it.”

The two headed out, with Will locking up behind him this time. He offered to drive, which Nico accepted, and then found himself directing Will to the library, as he apparently had no idea where it was. Once they got there, Will decided to sign up for a library card, as that was on his “to-do list,” and he might as well do it since he was there. While he was filling out the paperwork, Nico headed on up to the history room.

There was a ton of information to sort through, and Nico decided to start with the Family, Business, Building, and Organization Histories sections. It was difficult to know where to look, as he wasn’t sure the year that Will’s house was built, but he figured he would look at residential records to start with.

A few minutes later, Will came into the room, grinned at Nico, and headed over to the section with the old newspapers. He apparently had some idea of what he was looking for, as he pulled out a specific section and started leafing through the files. Nico spent some more time looking before figuring that he wasn’t going to find anything and wandered over to the township history books. He skimmed the chapter titles, and then flipped to the index. He doubted there would be a ‘hauntings’ section, but it was worth a look. Before he could get very far though, he was interrupted by a loud gasp from Will. He dropped the book and quickly walked over to where the other man was standing, now staring open-mouthed at an old newspaper.

“What is it?” Nico asked him, coming around behind Will to look at the paper. Will just pointed silently. The main photograph was in black and white, and it was unmistakably Will’s house.

The date on the paper was October of 1972. The headline above the photo read “TRIPLE MURDER IN QUIET NEIGHBORHOOD.”

Nico leaned in closer to read the accompanying article.

_On Sunday, October 29th, 1972, a brutal triple murder took three lives in New Haven, Connecticut._

_Jennie Hayword and her two children, Nicholas and Emma, were found dead by police officers who responded to a neighbor’s call. Hayword had strangulation marks around her neck, while the two children both received gunshot wounds to the head. Mark Hayword, husband and father, was nowhere to be found, and an active investigation is being led to discover his whereabouts._

_Police were alerted early in the morning of the 29 th, when the Hayword’s next door neighbor called after hearing the gunshots._

_“It was such a quiet, peaceful morning, when I heard the shots,” said Nancy Perkins, who lived next door. “I can’t believe what happened. They seemed like such a happy family. Nothing like this has ever happened here before.”_

_The suspect has no history of violence or disorderly conduct, and the family members and close friends interviewed are shocked at what occurred._

_“I don’t know why he did it,” said a family friend who wished to remain anonymous. “They never argued. He loved his wife and kids. This makes no sense to me.”_

_Police have considered the possibility that there was another party involved, but until they located Mark Haywood, he remains the chief suspect._

_If anyone has any tips or information, they are encouraged to call the police hotline at 555-2621._

“Wow,” Nico said as he finished up reading the article.

“That’s for sure,” Will said, looking pale. “Three people were murdered in my house! If that’s not terrifying enough on its own, all the creepy stuff makes sense now. Ghosts are usually restless spirits. If my father or husband randomly murdered me, I would be pretty upset too.”

“Did they ever find him?” Nico wondered aloud.

“Let’s keep looking,” Will said. “I feel like there’s more to this story. Why he did it for one thing.”

The two of them split the papers for the remainder of the year between them and started digging. It took them a while, but Nico finally found the report detailing Mark Hayword’s arrest.

“Here it is,” he said, scanning the article. “The cops found him in a hotel all the way in Missouri. He resisted arrest, and they had to restrain him. He didn’t confess, but he had a handgun on him, and bullets that matched the ones fired. There was also a rope in his trunk that had his and his wife’s DNA all over it.

“Was he convicted?” Will asked.

“Yep,” Nico replied. “Life in prison. He never admitted to it though. Didn’t give an alibi or anything. He literally just refused to talk. But there was more than enough evidence against him, so they found him guilty.”

“Is he still alive?” Will asked him.

“Doesn’t say,” Nico said. “If he did die, it probably happened years later. Although, I guess he could possibly be alive still.”

Will pulled out his phone and started typing. “This has probably made it online at this point,” he said. “Let me see if I can find anything.”

“I just can’t understand why,” Nico said. “Why would he just up and kill his family, and then never give a reason for it?”

“No idea,” Will said. “But that happens a lot, doesn’t it? Even today. A lot of homicides are domestic – family killing family. Maybe he was violent – abusive towards them, but nobody knew. Especially back then, there wasn’t a ton of support for abuse victims if they came forward with it.”

“That’s true,” Nico agreed, picking up another paper and paging through it, looking for more on the Hayword case.

“Found it!” Will said suddenly. “‘Mark Hayword, accused of murdering his wife and two children in 1972, died in confinement on April 23rd, 2004. Hayword was serving a life sentence with no chance of parole. Cause of death determined to be of natural causes.’”

“He deserved worse than that,” Nico said, feeling irritated that someone who did something so terrible simply passed away in his sleep.

“Well, now we go back to the original problem,” Will said. “There is some restless spirit in my house. Maybe it’s the wife and the kids. Or just one of them.”

“Or him?” Nico suggested. Will paused and looked stricken at that.

“I didn’t think of that,” he said. “I figured that if it was one the three victims, they were more sad than scary. Stuck in this house where something terrible happened to them. But if it’s him…”

Nico almost wished he hadn’t said anything. Will looked more worried than he had before.

“So what do we do now?” he asked, trying to shift tracks slightly. Will paused, thought about it, then started typing in his phone again.

“We have to exorcise the house,” he said, as though this was an ordinary activity to do.

“And how exactly do we do that?” Nico asked him. “Call a priest? Or the Ghostbusters?”

“I’m asking the internet,” Will said, sticking his tongue out at Nico’s Ghostbuster’s comment.

“And what does the internet say?” Nico asked, smiling slightly.

“Well, there’s a wikiHow article about it,” Will said. “I guess we can start there.”

“There is not,” Nico laughed, and moved over to stand behind Will and read over his should. But sure enough, there was one.

“ _How to Exorcise Your House or Dwelling_ ,” he read out loud.

Will turned to him and grinned. Nico could feel his face heating up when he realized how close their faces were to each other, as he had leaned in close to read the article. But Will just smiled even wider and turned back to the article.

“There are three methods listed here,” he said. “Let’s try these out to start with.”

“All right then,” Nico grumbled, willing his cheeks to return to their normal color. “Let’s go exorcise your house.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is indeed, a wikiHow article on how to exorcise your house.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I was writing all the creepy stuff in this chapter, a giant thunderstorm rolled in and the power went out briefly. Talk about setting the mood.

Before they left the library, Will printed off the article he found. His reasoning was that if he pulled it up at his house, the ghosts would know what they were doing and probably kill his laptop. Nico wasn’t sure if he agreed with that, but it turned out to be a good thing that he did, because after reading the article more thoroughly, they realized that they would need to do some shopping first.

“All right, I know I don’t have Kosher salt, so we’ll have to get that,” Will said, scanning the article. He had circled and highlighted the things they would need so it was easier to locate them.

“Also, do you have any idea where we can find a sage smudge stick?” he asked Nico.

“A what?” Nico replied in confusion, already pulling out his phone to check. Will repeated it and he typed it into Google.

“Walmart carries them apparently,” he said.

Will stopped in his tracks and turned to Nico. “You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?” he demanded.

“No, I’m serious!” Nico protested, holding his phone up to Will’s face. Sure enough, the sage smudge stick was something that could be purchased at Walmart.

“Huh,” Will said. “It sounds so mystical, that it seemed like something we would have to get at some weird little shop that sells crystal balls and stuff.”

“I guess exorcisms are now available at an available price,” Nico said, barely able to keep a straight face.

Will studied him for a second. “You are making fun of me,” he said accusingly.

“Just a little,” Nico smiled at him. “But I’m still here.”

Will smiled widely at that and held Nico’s gaze for a moment longer than necessary, before turning back to his list.

“It also sounds like we’re going to need some religious stuff,” he said. “It’ll probably be easier to get those than an actual priest. I just don’t know where we would get all of this. I’m not really religious, so I don’t have a cross or anything.”

Nico took the article to scan it. “There are plenty of churches around here that we could get holy water from,” he said. “And I’m sure we could get a cross at a thrift store.” He thought for a moment. “You know, I might actually have a rosary somewhere.”

“Are you religious?” Will asked him in surprise.

Nico took a moment to decide how to answer that question.

“It’s…complicated,” he said. “I was raised Catholic, but I don’t remember the last time I went to church, to be honest. It was kind of hard to stay involved with a religion, when most of the people there were telling you that your very existence is wrong.”

“What do you mean?” Will asked him, brow furrowed.

“Well, I came out in high school,” Nico said. “And I found that I didn’t like going to church when all I heard was that gay people were going to hell. My own personal views on God and everything are still kind of complicated, but I haven’t done anything with organized religion in a long time.”

Will was quiet for a moment. “You know, I have similar views on that subject,” he said quietly. “I’m more agnostic than anything, but the church hasn’t really done anything to get me to change my mind in that regard.” He then brightened visibly. “So I guess it’s a good thing that you at least have some history with religion. The article said that these things won’t work if you don’t actually believe in them.”

“Well, hopefully my belief isn’t too rusty,” Nico said with a slight smile.

As they hopped in the car and headed in the direction of Walmart, he couldn’t help but go over their last conversation in his head. He had come out to Will – not really in the way he had thought he would, but it had finally happened. He kept going back to what Will said though. What did he mean about the church changing his mind? Was he gay too, and that’s why he never got into religion? The way he had phrased it was pretty vague, and it could mean a lot of things. Nico couldn’t bring himself to ask though; if he was wrong, it would be pretty embarrassing for him.

Once at Walmart, they split up to get the stuff they were looking for. Nico also grabbed a small container for them to put the holy water in. If he was remembering correctly, they needed something of their own to collect it from the church. He and Will met at the cash registers and then headed out to the nearest thrift store. Inside, they found quite the array of crosses and crucifixes to choose from. Will grabbed the biggest one and headed up to check out.

Their next stop was a nearby Catholic church. Since it was the middle of the afternoon, there wasn’t a mass going on. A few people were sitting scattered throughout the pews, each praying silently. As quietly as they could, Will and Nico approached the Baptismal font and Nico scooped the holy water into the container. Luckily, nobody was paying attention to them or asked them what they were doing. Technically they were allowed to take it, but it could lead to some awkward questions.

After that, they headed back home. They stopped at Nico’s house first, so he could run in and get the rosary. It took him some digging in boxes of stuff, but he found it eventually. He was pretty sure he had never prayed on it, but it was one of his mother’s prized possessions, which was the main reason that he had held onto it all this time. Hopefully it would come in use now.

Armed with all their purchase, Nico and Will headed back to Will’s house. It was now well into the afternoon, and it would be getting dark soon. They dumped their stuff on the kitchen table when they got in.

“So what should we do first?” Nico asked him.

“Let’s put out the salt,” Will said. “I did some more Googling and there are a few options. Some say to put a pinch by each doorway. One article said to bathe in it, but I don’t really feel like doing that unless it’s a last resort.”

“Yeah, that’s a little weird,” Nico agreed. “Maybe that’s if you think you’re possessed?”

Will shrugged. “Let’s hope that doesn’t happen. And then we should sprinkle holy water everywhere.”

“And by everywhere, you mean…?”

Will just shrugged again. “Doorways. Windowsills. On the floor in the living room, because I’m pretty sure that’s the room that’s the most haunted. Maybe on my TV so it stops being turned on and off.” He paused suddenly, a look of concern on his face.

“What?” Nico asked him.

“Do you think they were killed in the living room?” he asked quietly. “That would make sense why all the weird stuff happens there.”

“That would make sense,” Nico agreed. Will pondered it for a moment, then turned back to his article.

“We’re also supposed to light the sage stick and carry it around the house and wave it in a clockwise motion,” he read off. “Also, some windows and doors should be open to let the spirits out.”

“If we accidentally burn the house down,” Nico suggested, “then do you think the ghosts will leave?”

Will merely made a face at Nico and continued to peruse his article. “There are some like, Latin chants that we can say, that are supposed to drive out the spirits. And there are some prayers listed.”

“Let’s start with the physical stuff,” Nico said. “It’s going to be dark soon, and if your ghosts like to mess with the lights, it’ll be easier to do this now.”

Will agreed, and they got to work. Nico took the holy water, while Will dealt with the salt. He felt a little silly, sprinkling water around Will’s house, but he figured that since he was this deep into it, he might as well keep going. Part of him still wanted to see something creepy happen, as that would at least give him some proof that there was something wrong with the house, and he wasn’t just sprinkling holy water onto his neighbor’s living room floor for no reason.

He sensed Will coming into the room behind him, and he figured that he was adding salt to the entrance way, as this was spook central.

“Do you want me to open one of the windows in here?” he asked Will. When he didn’t get an answer, he turned around.

There was no one there.

His heart skipped a beat. He was sure that he heard Will come in, and he could tell that someone had been behind him. But there was no one standing there. Moreover, he could now hear Will walking around, somewhere in the direction of the kitchen. For the first time since he had entered Will’s house, he felt freaked out. He slowly turned back around and continued sprinkling the water. He also opened up the aforementioned window. Then, walking as quickly as he could without running, he left the living room.

As he was turning the corner to the hallway, he ran directly into Will. It took everything in him not to yell out. He was moving so quickly that he hit Will pretty hard, and the other man had to throw his arms out to catch Nico before he fell over.

“Whoa, are you all right?” Will asked, as he steadied Nico. He took in the freaked out look on Nico’s face. “Did something happen?”

Nico took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. “I just…I thought you came into the living room, and when I turned around, nobody was there.”

Will let out a slow breath. “Yeah, I’ve definitely felt that before. It’s even freakier when you know that you’re in the house alone.”

“I finished with the holy water in there,” Nico said, holding up the bottle. Now that he was with Will, it was easier to not feel as freaked out.

“All right,” Will said. “I just have to do the sage stick in there then. After that, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

Nico nodded and followed Will back to the living room, not really wanting to go in there. Despite his early skepticism, he was now feeling a lot more cautious about the whole situation. The rational part of his brain told him that he was overreacting and just more easily scared because of the circumstances and all the stories that Will had told him. However, he had been so sure that someone had been in the room with him, and it definitely hadn’t been Will.

They entered the living room, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Until Nico noticed that the window he had opened was now closed. It was a heavy window that was opened by pushing part of it sideways. It functioned in a way that did not allow for it to fall shut (like a window that you pushed up) or blow closed from the wind. The only way it could be closed was by human hands pushing it closed.

Before he had a chance to say anything about this though, Will was lighting up the sage stick, and started waving it in circles, walking around the room. As he made a complete circle around the room, all the lights instantly went out, the flame on the sage stick died in a gust of wind, and every door on the upper level slammed shut at the same time.

Nico jumped and he was pretty sure his heart skipped several beats that time. He could feel terror pulsing through him like he had never experienced before. Will was only a few feet from him, and even though it was pretty dark in the room, there was enough light for him to see that the other man looked as scared as he felt. Then he realized that it had suddenly gotten extremely cold in the room. If it was lighter, he was sure he would be able to see his breath.

“What do we do?” he whispered to Will.

“The chants?” Will whispered back. He patted his back pocket, but apparently didn’t have the article on him. In fact, Nico was pretty sure it was sitting on the kitchen table still. However, he was in no hurry to leave the room. Or move anywhere at all for that matter.

“Do you know any prayers?” Will asked him. Nico wracked his brain. Even though it had been quite a few years, he was pretty sure the years of going to church and Sunday school had etched some of those prayers into his subconscious permanently. Right now though, the only one that was coming to mind was the one his mother would lead them in before meals. Somehow though, he had the feeling that blessing food would not get rid of a ghost.

“What were some that were listed?” he asked Will.

“Um, the Lord’s prayer?” he said hesitantly. “At least I think that was one. Although that’s kind of vague, so I don’t know. One had something to do with a saint. And I think there was a serendipity one?”

“Serenity,” Nico corrected him automatically. “I don’t know that one by heart, but I’m pretty sure the first one is just the Our Father one.”

“Okay, try that one then,” Will suggested, moving closer to Nico. Nico hesitated for a second, some of the old doubts creeping in. Was he really going to stand here in the dark, reciting some prayer like he was in grade school, following his Sunday school teacher? Then, as though reading his thoughts, all of the doors above them slammed in unison again, the window in the living room burst open, expelling a gust of cold wind onto them, and they distinctly heard footsteps creaking above them.

Will had leapt closer to Nico as all of these events occurred, and Nico felt the other man slip a hand into his. He could feel Will shaking, but it felt nice to have the physical contact and know that, despite how terrifying it all was, there was at least someone else there with him.

With a shaking voice, he started: “Our father, who art in heaven…”

The wind howled outside as he prayed, almost drowning him out. The TV behind them flickered on and off, alternating between static and the colored bars. Will was gripping his hand tightly, and Nico could feel him trembling with fear. He finished up the prayer, and then started it again. As far as he could tell, it wasn’t working. Maybe Will’s article was right, and it would only work if the person saying it really believed it. He realized that they had left the rosary and cross on the kitchen table as well.

He paused after his third recitation of the prayer, slightly out of breath. The TV was still going crazy and it sounded as though the footsteps had reached the top of the stairs. He felt Will tense up beside him, and then suddenly the other man was moving, running towards the kitchen, pulling Nico along with him. Nico stumbled slightly, not ready for the sudden change in movement. There were no doors between the living room and kitchen, so their way was clear.

Once in the kitchen, Will snatched up the giant cross he had bought earlier and faced the bottom of the stairs, which were just beyond the kitchen. He maneuvered Nico so the other man was standing behind him and the cross. Nico only had a moment to appreciate this gesture before the footsteps suddenly started down the stairs. The cross was trembling in Will’s hand, but he held it strong and as the footsteps seemingly made it to the bottom of the stairs, he bellowed,

“LEAVE!”

There was a great gust of icy cold wind that seemed to sweep through the house and suddenly there was silence. The wind outside had died down, the TV shut off, and the house was quiet. Will hesitantly put the cross down and stepped towards the stairs. Nico followed closely behind him, more than a little nervous about what he might see.

There was nothing. There was no sign that anything strange had just happened. As they stood there, Nico couldn’t help but wonder if it was all over. Had it worked?

Just then, Will cocked his head to the side. “Listen,” he whispered. “Do you hear something?”

Nico listened too, worried that he was going to hear something else creepy. But then he heard it, faintly, coming from the direction of the living room. It sounded like a young child crying. Will started walking in the direction of the living room, with Nico following closely behind. He realized that they were still holding hands.

They entered the living room cautiously. All the windows were opened wide, blankets from the couch were thrown haphazardly about the room, and a pile of magazines that Will had left next to the couch were scattered across the floor. A cool breeze flowed through the room from the open windows, but it was a natural wind – not the icy cold gusts from earlier. Once they were in the living room, the sound of crying was much more noticeable, and in fact, sounded as though it was coming from two different people. However, there wasn't any discernible source of the noise.

“Hello,” Will said quietly and softly. “It’s okay. No one is going to hurt you.”

Nico wasn’t sure what Will was planning but decided to let him go with it.

“You’re free to go now,” Will said, still in the same calm voice. “He’s gone. You can go in peace.”

The crying slowly subsided into sniffles before stopping. A strong breeze blew past the two men, before complete silence settled around them. The lights flickered back on, and it suddenly felt about ten degrees warmer in the room. Will turned to face Nico, and while his face was pale, he was smiling.

“I think we did it,” he said.

“Yeah,” Nico managed to get out. This was definitely something nobody would ever believe. He barely believed it himself, and if he hadn’t experienced it, he would have called it impossible.

“Now what?” he asked.

“Now I put my house back in order,” Will said, looking at the chaos in the living room, “I clean up the salt that I sprinkled everywhere, and I pray that this is the end of the spooky stuff in my house.”

“And then,” he said, grinning widely and turning back to Nico. “I ask you if you want to grab coffee tomorrow morning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a short epilogue after this that should be up tomorrow.
> 
> Happy Halloween!


	5. Chapter 5

_One week later_

Will was happy to report that he had not experienced any supernatural events since the night of their exorcism. Once he cleaned up his house, everything was quite and normal. He admitted that he still felt a little spooked at times, being there alone at night, but it was most likely just residual feelings based on everything that had happened. Nico knew that after what he saw, he would probably feel slightly uncomfortable every time he visited – at least for a while.

Over coffee that previous Sunday, they hadn’t talked much about what happened the night before. For one thing, they were in public, and it was a pretty quiet crowd in the coffee shop, so anyone could overhear them. They also wanted to just have a normal date, with no talk of supernatural events.

A date – because that’s what it was. Nico had turned pink at Will’s statement the night before and agreed, still not sure what Will’s intentions were. When they had met up the next morning, before going into the shop, Will had shyly confirmed that he had meant this to be a date. Nico was more than happy with that, and he could claim with all certainty, that this was the most interesting start to any relationship he had ever had.

And so they had dinner out the following Friday night as well. It was hard to meet up during the week due to Will’s busy schedule, but they were going to make it work. It did help that they lived right next to each other and could see each other at least somewhat frequently. As Nico predicted, Emmie and Jo were thrilled with this turn of events and had him over for tea Saturday afternoon after his dinner date with Will. Apparently, they had seen Will give Nico a good-night kiss when they got home, and they were itching for details.

Nico felt a little weird fabricating a story as to how they had gotten together. He simplified it to them meeting up in town on Saturday, spending some time together, and Will asking him out for coffee on Sunday. He didn’t like lying, but he was also pretty sure that they wouldn’t believe everything that had happened that night. But regardless of that, they were both very happy for him, and pressed him for details on the relationship.

It would be a few more weeks before they really sat down and talked about what had happened. Both had individually gone over the events of the night in their own heads, and Nico found that he did want to talk about it eventually. They eventually came to the conclusion that the violent ghost had been the father’s restless spirit, while the crying was from the children.

“So, maybe their spirits were trapped here because they knew his was still around?” Will suggested. “And they couldn’t go on until his was gone.”

“Makes sense,” Nico agreed. “They had just seen their father murder their mother, and likely knew he was coming for them. That’s enough to traumatize anyone for eternity.”

“I wonder what happened to the mother’s spirit,” Will mused. “She didn’t seem to be present at all.”

“Maybe she’s still here?” Nico suggested, earning himself a light kick from Will.

“Don’t even joke about that,” Will shuddered. “I am enjoying my ghost-free life right now.”

“Hopefully she was able to move on peacefully,” Nico said in a more serious tone. Will hummed his agreement and snuggled up closer to Nico. They were entombed in a pile of blankets on Nico’s couch, getting ready to watch some Netflix. Nico rested his head on Will’s shoulder as the other man pressed play. While the events in Will’s house had been terrifying to say the least, they had led to him and Will growing closer, and in the end, that’s what mattered most.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> To be continued!


End file.
